To my eyes, ears, and nose, Marvel's new blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy is a stupefyingly wonderful movie. In a thesaurus, the film might just be listed as a synonym underneath "fun." If none of this appeals to you, move along.

Like the other man-children on FSM, I've loved Star Wars. I've hated Star Wars. I try to understand and sympathize with the true denizens of Star Wars fandom. Sometimes I can't. So now I'm going to be on the other side. I found Guardians of the Galaxy to be the very best Star Wars movie made, and I stand convinced it was a better Star Wars movie than any of the Star Wars movies, and I don't think the filmmakers making the new Star Wars movies will make a new one as good as this Marvel movie. Now that seems like a complex mathematical equation. It breaks the curse of the comic book superhero flick by not being one, despite using the same tropes which Marvel breaks out for nearly all of these franchise installments in their combined cinematic universe: colorful characterizations, MacGuffin-bound plots, muscle-bound protagonists, you know the rest. But this is star-bound misfits versus oppressive galactic evils. It's Star Wars, done with an exciting new sheen, more varied characters, and a visual palette that is truly exciting and splashy. Just like those cosmic Marvel comics you read in the 70s and 80s. Even ancillary background characters have expression and presence in one way or another, something which I feel Lucas mastered in his original Star Wars but has since been lost on the sequels and prequels, as well as the rip-offs.

To look at director James Gunn and his filmmaking team's creation is another *marvel* altogether. Visual tableaus abound, resulting in an often psychedelic, and always kaleidoscopic picture. It is shaped very well by how the creative visual artists utilize their CGI to expand the weird universe it is set, and enforces why illustrative inventiveness can be the key to keeping this and any other genre fresh. More than any other entry that has preceded it, Guardians of the Galaxy looks and feels just like a vivid and imaginative comic book by some of Marvel's greats like Jack Kirby, Val Mayerik, and Gene Colan.

I'll go ahead and begin adding the film's song selections to the top of nearly every "Best Soundtrack" list on the internet. The music team really compiled an amazing selection, which pays off in diegetic use in beautiful, often heart-rendering moments.

I'm enamored that Mr. Gunn, an ex-Troma writer and oddball cult filmmaker, was able to get $200 million to play around for our first trip to Marvel's infinitely cosmic places. This was a gamble that will pay off very well for them.

I'm very skeptical about the song list. I really hate 80s music so much. I don't see why they put it in a movie like this because it seems to be the complete opposite of what would fit in a sci-fi film. I'm still going to watch the movie at some point when it comes out on Blu Ray but I don't expect to like the song choice at all.

I'm very skeptical about the song list. I really hate 80s music so much. I don't see why they put it in a movie like this because it seems to be the complete opposite of what would fit in a sci-fi film. I'm still going to watch the movie at some point when it comes out on Blu Ray but I don't expect to like the song choice at all.

Agreed. Thank god George Lucas didn't track Star Wars with popular 60's music! (Yeah I know it was a galaxy far far away) Being an almost unknown property I would say people are seeing Marvel movies on branding alone at this point. Same with Star Wars, Transformers, Pixar, and Disney (90's).

The songs aren't there just to appeal to fans of popular 80s music -- as Nuts points out, they are used diegetically; this music has relevance to the film's main character. It's not your typical background soundtrack.

And perhaps the success despite this being a lesser known property isn't down just to Marvel branding but has something to do with a successful marketing campaign. And I don't even know what your last sentence means! People didn't spend months seeing Frozen over and over again out of nostalgia for 90s Disney movies. They did it because they liked the movie. Same with Transformers. People aren't seeing that just because they've seen earlier ones. If that were the case we'd be seeing diminishing returns. People keep going back because Bay knows how to deliver precisely what his audience wants to see. And Pixar has earned its brand loyalty. Yeah they stumbled a couple times with Cars 2 and, to a lesser extent, Brave, but Monsters University was better than the original.

The songs aren't there just to appeal to fans of popular 80s music -- as Nuts points out, they are used diegetically; this music has relevance to the film's main character. It's not your typical background soundtrack.

Alright that does make a difference. Still not my thing, but it makes sense now.

And perhaps the success despite this being a lesser known property isn't down just to Marvel branding but has something to do with a successful marketing campaign. And I don't even know what your last sentence means! People didn't spend months seeing Frozen over and over again out of nostalgia for 90s Disney movies. They did it because they liked the movie. Same with Transformers. People aren't seeing that just because they've seen earlier ones. If that were the case we'd be seeing diminishing returns. People keep going back because Bay knows how to deliver precisely what his audience wants to see. And Pixar has earned its brand loyalty. Yeah they stumbled a couple times with Cars 2 and, to a lesser extent, Brave, but Monsters University was better than the original.

I just meant Disney in the 90's was a sure bet. They were riding high with one hit after another based on the strength of their branding. I agree with Bay movies. He is his own brand.

I'm very skeptical about the song list. I really hate 80s music so much. I don't see why they put it in a movie like this because it seems to be the complete opposite of what would fit in a sci-fi film.

Firstly, the song selections are popular releases from the 1970s. Secondly, I know this is your personal preference, but don't you feel like you suck the joy out of everything by having such absurd reservations? Just kick back and have a good time, don't worry about such things "ruining" a piece of entertainment before you've even witnessed said entertainment?

Well they seem totally out of place in the trailers for one so that is a good indication of how they would work in the film. It all blends together to me anyway as a sea of horrible pop music whether 70s, 80s, or 90s. I have a hard time figuring out why anyone enjoyed most of what has become heavily-played "hits."

Personally, I quite enjoyed most of the trailers and felt the music actually worked for them and the tone Marvel's clearly going for with this entry into their Cinematic Universe. But then, I enjoy most of the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 songs to begin with, and that probably helps. If someone hears all pop just as noise, then I can see why it may not appeal.

And having finally seen the film tonight, I can honestly say I loved it. I'm not a comic book nerd by any stretch of the imagination... I've never been a regular reader of any comics, and had zero prior knowledge of these characters. But the movie was incredibly fun, and by the end of it you can really buy into the friendship amongst all these misfit characters.

To be honest, I was surprised at some of the naysaying I saw from some leading up to this release... at this point I have enough faith that Marvel seems to have a very good thing going, and look forward to all their future projects, however familiar or not I may be with the comic property.

Well they seem totally out of place in the trailers for one so that is a good indication of how they would work in the film. It all blends together to me anyway as a sea of horrible pop music whether 70s, 80s, or 90s. I have a hard time figuring out why anyone enjoyed most of what has become heavily-played "hits."

You're judging how the popular songs would work in the film based off of the TRAILER? Seriously?

Maybe you should, I don't know, go see the movie and see how the songs really work in the movie so you can revise your ill formed opinion.

But I stand by my personal opinion of the movie. Ugly obnoxious characters, bland score, dated songs and boring CGI. I have no interest in the film. I'll stick with Star Wars.

Its funny, your opinion of the film is exactly how I'd describe all the prequel Star Wars movies! (edit: except where the scores are concerned, of course)

I absolutely loved this film. I had no prior knowledge of the property, so it was all new to me. I even tried avoiding the trailers before seeing it (and having seen them since, they don't do a very good job of selling it well, or getting the tone of the film across.........such a pity!).

This isn't your typical blockbuster movie. There is a joy and wonder to it that is missing from most other big budget movies these days. The pace is breathtaking, the cast and characters are wonderful and memorable, the humour is off-kilter, the sets are glorious, the effects are stunning. Seriously, I don't know how anyone could refer to the CGI in the movie as "boring"; some of the visuals took my breath away! The plot is a tad hurried and contrived, but given how many characters they have to introduce in such a short space of time, I think the filmmakers did a wonderful job. But most importantly, the film manages to instil some actual HEART into the proceedings, such a rarity in todays blockbuster landscape.

And getting back to the Star Wars comparison, like the original poster, there were moments during the film where I kept thinking to myself "this is exactly the type of Star Wars movie JJ would kill to make". I have no doubt in my mind that JJ will succeed in making a technically brilliant movie (which of course I will be rushing out to see next year), but I doubt it will posses the rousing sense of adventure that Guardians of the Galaxy managed to pull off with such startling ease.

Its been a heck of a long time since I've seen a movie that is this much fun, and the only film in recent memory where the audience actually erupted into applause after (Irish audiences tend to be a little on the reserved side).

I can certainly imagine hardcore James Brown buffs not being happy (for non-North American readers, Universal opened Get On Up about the hardest working man in showbusiness opposite Groot and Co., to the tune of $14.031 million).

Well they seem totally out of place in the trailers for one so that is a good indication of how they would work in the film. It all blends together to me anyway as a sea of horrible pop music whether 70s, 80s, or 90s. I have a hard time figuring out why anyone enjoyed most of what has become heavily-played "hits."

You're judging how the popular songs would work in the film based off of the TRAILER? Seriously?

Maybe you should, I don't know, go see the movie and see how the songs really work in the movie so you can revise your ill formed opinion.

As I said, I will rent it on blu ray and see how it works. I have given up on going to the theaters for the rest of the year since upgrading my setup at home so I won't be seeing anything in theaters for the rest of the year except for maybe Interstellar. I'm tired of the overpowering bass that is used at theaters. At least at home I can turn it down a bit and enjoy a more natural mix.

And anyway, what the hell is wrong with judging a movie based on the trailers? It is the only thing I have to base my decision on seeing a film. Critics rarely help me decide on a film. They seem to judge things on completely different criteria than I do. Rarely is there a review of a movie that I see recognizing that a movie can be good simply for presenting a good time.

If the studios do a poor job presenting the trailers then they deserve to lose out on sales. Sure there are a lot of films that have horrible songs in the trailers that never show up in the movie but trailers usually give me a good feel for the tone of a film. If they don't represent the film then someone made a mistake.